Professional Documents
Culture Documents
R
ecently retired, many consider Daniel made a guitar patterned after an Antonio
Friederich (b. January 16, 1932) to be de Torres he owned.Inspired by Aubin,
the greatest living contemporary guitar Friederich made his first guitar in 1955. In
maker.From a line of cabinet makers on both the 50s, the Parisian guitar maker Robert
sides of his family, he grew up in the Faubourg Bouchet was enjoying worldwide acclaim and
Saint-Antoine district of Paris, where all of the making inroads to the Spanish guitar market
citys cabinet making shops were located.Ap- as a pioneer non-Spanish maker.
prenticing at age 13, he completed a rigorous In 59, Friederich showed his 15th guitar to
four-year course where he ranked 11th out of Bouchet, asking his advice.Bouchets profes-
400 students, studying not only the technical sion was artist and professor of graphic arts,
aspects of woodworking, but art history, drafting, and he was making guitars as a quasi-hobby,
and related subjects required to be certified as a being very selective about who he would
master cabinet maker in those days. build for.He developed a friendship with
In 1948, Friederich bought his first guitar and Friederich, who would often assist the older
was studying with Christian Aubin, one of Bouchet with more-energetic operations such
the leading figures in the Paris scene.Aubin as planing wood.Bouchet was never formally
was not only a player and teacher, but had trained in woodworking, so he benefitted
Full Friederich: Felix Salazar.
immensely from Friederichs expertise, Alirio Diaz.Friederich was awarded the gold (ABOVE) Friederich in his shop; many of
while Friederich benefitted from Bouchets medal for craftsmanship and the silver medal the hand tools were made by him.
unorthodox approach to guitar making. for sound. Friederich was introduced to Fleta,
Much to his fathers disapproval, Frie- and later supplied the Fleta family with woods luthier Masaru Kohno took the gold medal for
derich opened his f irst sound in this competition,
shop at rue Ramponneau having earlier studied under
No. 21.As business grew Spanish maker Arcangel
and his skill improved, Fernandez.In Japan, this
though, his fathers attitude honor was parlayed by the
changed.Young Friederich astute Kohno into a multi-
made three models the Ar- million dollar empire that
pege, Recital, and Concert includes guitar making,
along with a few Flamenco publishing, and concert
models.Only the Concerts promotion.
were numbered starting From 1970 onward, Frie-
with 100.However, early on, derich made only numbered
he assigned lower numbers Concert models, which are
to some, and himself admits distinguished by carved
that his numbering system heads t hat beca me his
was at first arbitrary and signature design.That year
capricious. he also began laminating
In 1966, he moved to rue the sides, usua lly w ith
Sergent Bauchat, where he mahogany or light-colored
remained until his recent rosewood on the inside, later
retirement; this shop is also Sapele (African mahoga-
located in the Faubourg Dated label ny), which is very similar to
Saint-Antoine cabinet mak- genuine mahogany.In 74,
ers district of Paris.1967 he began using cedar for the
was a banner year for Friederich, as he entered and varnish-making supplies which were hard tops, beginning with guitar No. 378 made for
a guitar-making competition in Liege, Bel- to come by in those days in Spain, but read- the South American virtuoso Turibio Santos.
gium, judged by luthiers Robert Bouchet and ily available in Paris.This type of collegial Friederichs list of clients reads like a whos
Ignacio Fleta along with the blind Spanish assistance is very common in the lutherie who of the classical guitar world, and every
composer Joaquin Rodrigo (Concerto de world, and is one of the things that makes our instrument has been documented in his note-
Aranjuez) and virtuoso Venezuelan player world so delightful.Coincidently, Japanese books with detailed notes on construction
(LEFT) The notebook page for instrument No. 776 with detailed technical and and Arpege models, with Friederichs personal commentary. (BELOW) Friederich
musical annotations.Friederich has recorded most of his guitars in this notebook. sitting in the corner of his shop in the exact spot he tests every guitar in order to
(RIGHT) Two pages from his early catalog listing the specifications of his Recital control the acoustic variables when assessing the tonal characteristics.